N086

places lightly for a natural effect, then dipped in the perfume bottle and rubbed the back of her small

ears.

Tilting back the blurred mirror, she surveyed herself critically. The effect s entirely satisfactory. Betty sighed ecstatlcaily. “I look like l million dollars." she breath- ed. "I—I can almost convince my- self that I am a. great lady to- night."

Carefully her silver-siippered feet descended the narrow stairs. She must get away as uickly as possible. What would e unro- mmtic Mr. and Mrs. James Bar- stow say if they saw the cin- derella of their kitchen arrayed ‘in Rarments like these? Betty chuck-

led at the thought. They ‘would t had gone crazy if they found out that spent g

whole month's salary to rent the thins! she was wearing, M141 t0 buy a. ticket for the opera. “But they never will find out,” she wig her‘. self, l-s she carefully closed the back door behind her. ., At the corner. she waited for a wb- 0n the way down. she heard the voice

doorway, his evening clo hes re- placed by clean blue overalls.

and red strung across the streets. She told herself it must be the Christmas feeling in the an ma; made her do this daring thing. It was utterly ridiculous io drem up like a. great lady. but. one had to be different at Christmas And iii: had been pretty dull for Betty slnoe she had to accept the wor she was doing. It offered very iittleinslpiration.

The stow of the o took her

‘back to a medieval world. In a few moments she was completely lost in ils atmosphwe. so mwch s0 thiit she failed to notice that the llrln rented at her right was send- in-z admiring glances in her direc- mn. When the curtam went up, h" learned over and spoke.

8 love this," he aid néigly.

“l do, too," Betty snswer , with s iittfe catch in her voice. It seemed incredible that he was speaking to her. H: was really acting as if she belonged. By the time the curtain went up in they were cﬂlling each other Pr ce and Princess: taking the names of the two leading characters on the stage.

A5 the great drama moved to its close Betty tried to hurry away- She didn't want her Prince to find out what an impostor she was. But he had taken hold of her arm. "Couldn't we g0 and have some coffee?" he suggested. “I know I'm a stranger to yell. bin-but it's Ghristmas——end-" I

"I should say ‘no'." Betty will herself. "I should ever; tell him tho truth about myself. Instead. she accompanied him to the cof- fee shop moss the street. She couldn't deny herself this one hour of happiness. After it was over- welL-Bettv would not let her

l tnilfr " that she as she a mos orgot W playing a part as they w! W863i-

Santa Claus

l/Vho Lived

There are many legends, but

few facts now in existence con-

cerning the life of St. Nicholas, Bishop of ltlyro, ‘chose corrupted

name, Santa Claus. is especially

dear to children.

Ho was born in the city ol Parara in Lycia towards the and o! lhc third century. lie died on December 6th, 352 at Myra. In the course of his 80 or 70 years of life he c-"rned an International reputation as the most remarkable man of his time,

He was received into the Church at u very early age and while

silll a young priest he startled his

limited world by restoring a dead

sailor to life. About this time, too, lir- became frmous for his

generosity, the outstanding example being ilic case nobleman of Parara. whn was so penniicss three beautiful daughters were starving. The give assistance without giving offciive.

uas rich, took a purse of gold on

of the poor and proud that his problem was to The young Nicholas, who three bilttlisblVit nights and drop-

ped each one through a grating inlo the nnblcmans house. l-‘rum this kindly act ls derived the custom giving presents at Christ- mas and the idea. of the arrival of Sunni Cl .us¢ at dead of night

with gifts. The original grating

has now become the ohimn y.

Gifts were always associated with the nume of 5t_ Nicholas ha.

cause of his many charities.

St. Nicholas is the patron saint of all children. srlicilars, pgrish clerks, travellers, thieves merchants sailors uncl puwnbrokors, hay.

lng rendered some special scrvlrc

to ouch class. it has been sug-

gested that the i-urious trade sign pi the puwnhrnker is symbolic of‘ the three purses Si. Nlcliulas gin-o in lhc nobleman of Pnraru.

but it is now fairly well established that lhu

ilirci: golden halls

are relics oi the days when Lombard} niuiiupulised lilc money-

lending profession.

er. They seemed l0 have so much in common. He had l€i1d widely --the type of books she liked; he took an interest in so many things she liked; seemed to be as ro- mantic and visionaiy as herself. But he spoke no word‘ to indicate that lie wanted io see her again. She had been foolish to expect it.

Gloom enveloped the world for Betty next morning. As ifto add to her humiliation and misery, a clogged-up drain was sending oozy brown uoter buck ‘into the sink Her feet dragged scum the floor

as she answered the plumbers knock. Then the world spun dizzily

around her for a moment. A rush of joy, of wonder, iiftcd her heart. Her Prince was standing in the doorway, his evening clothes re- placed by clean blue overalls. his good-looking izwe wrinkled in be- wilderment.

“I-I though you stammered.

were-J‘ he

“And I-—I thought you were—” Bchy gllallCfi in answer.

Wren UXDIdiiClLlOIlS were over, a mail; ielivrc Piinue and Princess were WCildPlillg if Christmas wasn't the very incest time for a wedding CEYLWHOHV.

ETERNAL FOE OF CRUELTY

Much as Christmas has meant to huniaiiiiy it has meant no less to ihmc lo: er fellow creatures who share wit. nrn life's joys and sor- rows. wi‘;ll.(3\'£‘l‘ tiic burden of suf- fciung Llrtt rests upon the animal trorh to-dziy, it is less by many fold than it. was before that night when a lltilc child was born in the sirible 0i 4i Bcllilclicin iiui. The ' isimas is the eternal . No mall who yields "e can look with other than kindly eyes upon the least of those living things that have cap- acity for ‘pain.

First Christmas Carol

Ohmstmaslsthetimewheumon uedmwn wcether ina great Muchofthismlybeat-

unity. tributcd to our response tn famil-

lnrjongs, sung year after year to

nimemorato the advent of a little (Jhild on earth. ‘The first Christ- mas carol ever heard, we like to believe. came over the fields 0f Bethlehem, when Christ was born ._"Giory to God on high, and on earth, peace. good will toward men."

But it was 1.200 years later that St. Francis of Assisi and his broth- era took up the singing in public of carols at Christmas to combat the unbeiief of their time. With lighted tapers they went about the streets of the small Italian village pouring out their hearts in songs of praise. In the 800 years since then the singing of Christmas col‘- 01g has gone around the world. Whereever Christianity is known. carol singing follows,

The simple vision of a mother lulilng her babe to sleep gives Christmas music its strength Some sing as a tribute to their religious faith. others as a custom they en-

joy. But whatever the reason, the j

important thing is that more and more people do it. From such wide- ly different sources as churches. theatres, schools. clubs, radio sta- tions come the words of Away in a. Manger Silent Night, Joy to the World, Little Town of Bethlehem. Hark the Herald Angels Sing, and Come All Ye Faithful, i sung by soloists. choirs, choruses or the voices of school children. So each year new joy is expressed through old channels-—Frances (Si-instead.

sATirA IS UP-TO-DATE.

Some Day Might Use ltadio Ener- gy to Distribute ills Gifts.

Santa Claus is a decidedly pro- gressive old chap. He keeps strict- ly abreast of the times. and 1n his xvork employs only modern-day methods. Once he went plodding over the fields_i1i a sleigh no fast- er than relzndeers could gallop. It took him a long time but he man- aged to make the rounds.

Then came the automobile. Santa got a big red one and hitch- ed trailers on behind. He could get around faster. l-le carried big- ger loads, got to more homes and made more chlldmn liapw. When airplanes flew over l e North Pole Santa got another ideaalie beiieved that planes would be aet- ter for his long trips and for skip- ping from houseiop to housetop. He is hardly built for an air pilot, but nobody flies foster nor far- tlirr than plump, old Santa.

He does not fancy zcppelins. but he is sure that in another year or two he may be able to broadcast Christmas to the children by radio. As soon as carriers are invented to fly through the air directed and landed by radio energy, old Santa will sit on his mountain of northern ice and broadcast an up- to-date Christmas to all the world.

Something About Carols.

In 152i Wynken de Worde print- ed the first known set of the Christmas carols.

The carol was originalbr a joy- ous dance, a sigh of liberation from the religious austerity of the Puritan era, Pcrcv Denrmer, writ- ing in ‘The Oxford Book oi’ Carols," says “The carol. by for- saking the timeless contemplative melodies of the church. began the era of modern music, which throughout has been based on the dance.”

The word “mrol" is from "can- true," to sing and "rola" a joyful interjection

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